HOME covers the best New Zealand architecture, design and interiors. It features inspirational, ingenious and just plain breathtaking homes from all over the country – as well as new restaurants, exciting art and the latest furniture releases.
FOR THE HOME team, the beginning of a new year is always an exciting time filled with inspiration as we plan the year ahead and reconnect with the design community after the summer break. It also marks the beginning of our awards programmes, and this year is shaping up to be particularly special. It is the 30th anniversary of the Home of the Year Awards, and, to celebrate this significant milestone, we are looking back at 10 years of exceptional New Zealand architecture — homes that are of their time, and those that have endured; projects that have helped to shape the architectural language of Aotearoa, and those that have put New Zealand on the global stage. In this issue, you’ll find the incredible finalists for both Home of the…
Thought for humans Salone del Mobile has announced the first major event in its 2025 cultural programme. Mother, a work by Robert Wilson in collaboration with the Municipality of Milan, is a tribute to art, to the city, and to light. It is also a homage to Michelangelo’s unfinished work ‘staged’ at the Museo della Pietà — Castello Sforzesco — in a dramaturgical dialogue with Stabat Mater, the musical masterpiece by Estonian composer Arvo Pärt. Mother will take the form of a constantly repeating sequence of music, lights, and images lasting 30 minutes, open to the public by appointment at scheduled times. The installation, with live performances of the Stabat Mater until 13 April, will be open for visits until 18 May, for viewing outside Milan Design Week. “I intend…
Te Kawerau ā Maki, Ngāti Whanaunga, Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, Ngāti Mahuta, Ngāti Tamaoho, Ngāti Awa, Ngāti Kotimana/Scottish DURING A WALK after cyclone Gabrielle in February 2023, the land offered up something unexpected. “With the mass devastation of the surrounding whenua, it was as though each sediment hue had been thrust up separately to reflect and reveal a colourful cloak,” Charlotte says. “Placing my hands in natural materials from Papatūānuku is a deeply connective, sensual experience that instinctively soothes my central nervous system.” Her visits to this area are daily as she gathers material to paint; painting, in turn, provides a way of grounding and expressing herself. Charlotte is a prolific painter who has worked with a range of mediums over her 29-year career as a celebrated Māori artist. As…
IT’S APPROPRIATE, THEN, that Dee’s pieces are created to support those moments — pieces that serve as vessels for shared experiences and intimate meals. “They are not just objects; they are a means to connect — a means to understand the world through touch, through presence, through the simple act of being together,” she tells us. Despite never seeing herself as a creative person, creation is at the heart of Dee’s being. Her latest endeavour, Plain and Simple Ceramics, began in a roundabout way. “I never would have found clay as a medium if it weren’t for my partner, Simon, who, in our early days of dating, suggested a private pottery class. The moment my hands touched the cold brown clay, I was instantly transported back in time to my…
You are living in Mallorca, Spain — this is quite a change in environment from windy ol’ Wellington. What was behind the move, and has it changed the approach or look and feel of your work? Ha, yes, a big change indeed! Mallorca is surprising, though; it has many of the technologies, materials, and services required for maintaining yachts, [and they] cross over to what I do in my studio. There’s a good collector base and a thriving art scene, and, with easy flights to major European centres, it means I’m getting to see more exhibitions and my own art now has a bigger presence in Europe. My approach to work changed by necessity more than desire, since all my machines and studio equipment were unavailable to me for a…
THE FIRST CONSIDERATION, according to locally-owned EV charger supplier We.EV, is to understand that charging your EV can take up to 50 per cent of your household energy supply at any one time, so ensuring you’re managing your home's energy is vital. “While scheduling for cheaper power prices is a well-known solution, not many know about the power of smart home EV charging solutions,” We.EV’s Sam Montgomerie says. Early discussions around New Zealand’s emerging public charging infrastructure used to dominate the conversation around the practicality of electric vehicles, but the reality is 90 per cent of charging takes place in the home, Sam explains. It’s vital, then, that this new wave of energy demand is managed in a way that doesn’t cause significant spikes on the network. One way to…
